15 U.S. Code § 1262 - Declaration of hazardous substances

Whenever in the judgment of the Commission such action will promote the objectives of this chapter by avoiding or resolving uncertainty as to its application, the Commission may by regulation declare to be a hazardous substance, for the purposes of this chapter, any substance or mixture of substances, which it finds meets the requirements of section
1261(f)(1)(A) of this title.

(2) Procedure

Proceedings for the issuance, amendment, or repeal of regulations under this subsection and the admissibility of the record of such proceedings in other proceedings, shall be governed by the provisions of subsections (f) through (i) of this section.

(b) Reasonable variations or additional label requirements

If the Commission finds that the requirements of section
1261(p)(1) of this title are not adequate for the protection of the public health and safety in view of the special hazard presented by any particular hazardous substance, it may by regulation establish such reasonable variations or additional label requirements as it finds necessary for the protection of the public health and safety; and any such hazardous substance intended, or packaged in a form suitable, for use in the household or by children, which fails to bear a label in accordance with such regulations shall be deemed to be a misbranded hazardous substance.

(c) Exemption from requirements by regulation

If the Commission finds that, because of the size of the package involved or because of the minor hazard presented by the substance contained therein, or for other good and sufficient reasons, full compliance with the labeling requirements otherwise applicable under this chapter is impracticable or is not necessary for the adequate protection of the public health and safety, the Commission shall promulgate regulations exempting such substance from these requirements to the extent it determines to be consistent with adequate protection of the public health and safety.

(d) Exemption from requirements of this chapter of substances or containers adequately regulated by other provisions of law

The Commission may exempt from the requirements established by or pursuant to this chapter any hazardous substance or container of a hazardous substance with respect to which it finds that adequate requirements satisfying the purposes of this chapter have been established by or pursuant to any other Act of Congress.

(e) Regulation of toys or articles intended for use by children

(1)A determination by the Commission that a toy or other article intended for use by children presents an electrical, mechanical, or thermal hazard shall be made by regulation in accordance with the procedures prescribed by section
553 (other than clause (B) of the last sentence of subsection (b) of such section) of title 5 unless the Commission elects the procedures prescribed by subsection (e) ofsection
371 of title 21, in which event such subsection and subsections (f) and (g) of such section
371 of title
21 shall apply to the making of such determination. If the Commission makes such election, it shall publish that fact with the proposal required to be published under paragraph (1) of such subsection (e).

(2)If, before or during a proceeding pursuant to paragraph (1) of this subsection, the Commission finds that, because of an electrical, mechanical, or thermal hazard, distribution of the toy or other article involved presents an imminent hazard to the public health and it, by order published in the Federal Register, gives notice of such finding, such toy or other article shall be deemed to be a banned hazardous substance for purposes of this chapter until the proceeding has been completed. If not yet initiated when such order is published, such a proceeding shall be initiated as promptly as possible.

(3)

(A)In the case of any toy or other article intended for use by children which is determined by the Commission, in accordance with section
553 of title
5, to present an electrical, mechanical, or thermal hazard, any person who will be adversely affected by such a determination may, at any time prior to the 60th day after the regulation making such determination is issued by the Commission, file a petition with the United States Court of Appeals for the circuit in which such person resides or has his principal place of business for a judicial review of such determination. A copy of the petition shall be forthwith transmitted by the clerk of the court to the Commission or other officer designated by him [1] for that purpose. The Commission shall file in the court the record of the proceedings on which the Commission based its determination, as provided in section
2112 of title
28.

(B)If the petitioner applies to the court for leave to adduce additional evidence, and shows to the satisfaction of the court that such additional evidence is material and that there was no opportunity to adduce such evidence in the proceeding before the Commission, the court may order such additional evidence (and evidence in rebuttal thereof) to be taken before the Commission in a hearing or in such other manner, and upon such terms and conditions, as to the court may seem proper. The Commission may modify its findings as to the facts, or make new findings, by reason of the additional evidence so taken, and it shall file such modified or new findings, and its recommendation, if any, for the modification or setting aside of its original determination, with the return of such additional evidence.

(C)Upon the filing of the petition under this paragraph, the court shall have jurisdiction to review the determination of the Commission in accordance with subparagraphs (A), (B), (C), and (D), of paragraph (2) of the second sentence of section
706 of title
5. If the court ordered additional evidence to be taken under subparagraph (B) of this paragraph, the court shall also review the Secretary’s [2] determination to determine if, on the basis of the entire record before the court pursuant to subparagraphs (A) and (B) of this paragraph, it is supported by substantial evidence. If the court finds the determination is not so supported, the court may set it aside. With respect to any determination reviewed under this paragraph, the court may grant appropriate relief pending conclusion of the review proceedings, as provided in section
705 of title
5.

(D)The judgment of the court affirming or setting aside, in whole or in part, any such determination of the Commission shall be final, subject to review by the Supreme Court of the United States upon certiorari or certification, as provided in section
1254 of title
28.

(f) Commencement of proceeding for promulgation of regulation; notice

A proceeding for the promulgation of a regulation under section
1261(q)(1) of this title classifying an article or substance as a banned hazardous substance or a regulation under subsection (e) of this section may be commenced by the publication in the Federal Register of an advance notice of proposed rulemaking which shall—

(1)identify the article or substance and the nature of the risk of injury associated with the article or substance;

(2)include a summary of each of the regulatory alternatives under consideration by the Commission (including voluntary standards);

(3)include information with respect to any existing standard known to the Commission which may be relevant to the proceedings, together with a summary of the reasons why the Commission believes preliminarily that such standard does not eliminate or adequately reduce the risk of injury identified in paragraph (1);

(4)invite interested persons to submit to the Commission, within such period as the Commission shall specify in the notice (which period shall not be less than 30 days or more than 60 days after the date of publication of the notice), comments with respect to the risk of injury identified by the Commission, the regulatory alternatives being considered, and other possible alternatives for addressing the risk;

(5)invite any person (other than the Commission) to submit to the Commission, within such period as the Commission shall specify in the notice (which period shall not be less than 30 days after the date of publication of the notice), an existing standard or a portion of a standard as a proposed regulation under section
1261(q)(1) of this title or subsection (e) of this section; and

(6)invite any person (other than the Commission) to submit to the Commission, within such period as the Commission shall specify in the notice (which period shall not be less than 30 days after the date of publication of the notice), a statement of intention to modify or develop a voluntary standard to address the risk of injury identified in paragraph (1) together with a description of a plan to modify or develop the standard.

The Commission shall transmit such notice within 10 calendar days to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives.

(g) Publication of standard; termination of proceeding for promulgation of regulation; monitoring of compliance

(1)If the Commission determines that any standard submitted to it in response to an invitation in a notice published under subsection (f)(5) of this section if promulgated (in whole, in part, or in combination with any other standard submitted to the Commission or any part of such a standard) as a regulation under section
1261(q)(1) of this title or subsection (e) of this section, as the case may be, would eliminate or adequately reduce the risk of injury identified in a notice provided under subsection (f)(1) of this section, the Commission may publish such standard, in whole, in part, or in such combination and with nonmaterial modifications, as a proposed regulation under such section or subsection.

(2)If the Commission determines that—

(A)compliance with any standard submitted to it in response to an invitation in a notice published under subsection (f)(6) of this section is likely to result in the elimination or adequate reduction of the risk of injury identified in the notice, and

(B)it is likely that there will be substantial compliance with such standard,

the Commission shall terminate any proceeding to promulgate a regulation under section
1261(q)(1) of this title or subsection (e) of this section, respecting such risk of injury and shall publish in the Federal Register a notice which includes the determination of the Commission and which notifies the public that the Commission will rely on the voluntary standard to eliminate or reduce the risk of injury, except that the Commission shall terminate any such proceeding and rely on a voluntary standard only if such voluntary standard is in existence. For purposes of this section, a voluntary standard shall be considered to be in existence when it is finally approved by the organization or other person which developed such standard, irrespective of the effective date of the standard. Before relying upon any voluntary standard, the Commission shall afford interested persons (including manufacturers, consumers, and consumer organizations) a reasonable opportunity to submit written comments regarding such standard. The Commission shall consider such comments in making any determination regarding reliance on the involved voluntary standard under this subsection.

(A)upon which the Commission has relied under paragraph (2) of this subsection;

(B)which were developed with the participation of the Commission; or

(C)whose development the Commission has monitored.

(h) Publication of proposed rule together with preliminary regulatory analysis

No regulation under section
1261(q)(1) of this title classifying an article or substance as a banned hazardous substance and no regulation under subsection (e) of this section may be proposed by the Commission unless the Commission publishes in the Federal Register the text of the proposed rule, including any alternatives, which the Commission proposes to promulgate, together with a preliminary regulatory analysis containing—

(1)a preliminary description of the potential benefits and potential costs of the proposed regulation, including any benefits or costs that cannot be quantified in monetary terms, and an identification of those likely to receive the benefits and bear the costs;

(2)a discussion of the reasons any standard or portion of a standard submitted to the Commission under subsection (f)(5) of this section was not published by the Commission as the proposed regulation or part of the proposed regulation;

(3)a discussion of the reasons for the Commission’s preliminary determination that efforts proposed under subsection (f)(6) of this section and assisted by the Commission as required by section
2054(a)(3) of this title would not, within a reasonable period of time, be likely to result in the development of a voluntary standard that would eliminate or adequately reduce the risk of injury identified in the notice provided under subsection (f)(1) of this section; and

(4)a description of any reasonable alternatives to the proposed regulation, together with a summary description of their potential costs and benefits, and a brief explanation of why such alternatives should not be published as a proposed regulation.

The Commission shall transmit such notice within 10 calendar days to the appropriate Congressional committees. Nothing in this subsection shall preclude any person from submitting an existing standard or portion of a standard as a proposed regulation.

(1)The Commission shall not promulgate a regulation under section
1261(q)(1) of this title classifying an article or substance as a banned hazardous substance or a regulation under subsection (e) of this section unless it has prepared a final regulatory analysis of the regulation containing the following information:

(A)A description of the potential benefits and potential costs of the regulation, including costs and benefits that cannot be quantified in monetary terms, and the identification of those likely to receive the benefits and bear the costs.

(B)A description of any alternatives to the final regulation which were considered by the Commission, together with a summary description of their potential benefits and costs and a brief explanation of the reasons why these alternatives were not chosen.

(C)A summary of any significant issues raised by the comments submitted during the public comment period in response to the preliminary regulatory analysis, and a summary of the assessment by the Commission of such issues.

The Commission shall publish its final regulatory analysis with the regulation.

(2)The Commission shall not promulgate a regulation under section
1261(q)(1) of this title classifying an article or substance as a banned hazardous substance or a regulation under subsection (e) of this section unless it finds (and includes such finding in the regulation)—

(A)in the case of a regulation which relates to a risk of injury with respect to which persons who would be subject to such regulation have adopted and implemented a voluntary standard, that—

(i)compliance with such voluntary standard is not likely to result in the elimination or adequate reduction of such risk of injury; or

(ii)it is unlikely that there will be substantial compliance with such voluntary standard;

(B)that the benefits expected from the regulation bear a reasonable relationship to its costs; and

(C)that the regulation imposes the least burdensome requirement which prevents or adequately reduces the risk of injury for which the regulation is being promulgated.

(3)

(A)Any regulatory analysis prepared under subsection (h) of this section or paragraph (1) shall not be subject to independent judicial review, except that when an action for judicial review of a regulation is instituted, the contents of any such regulatory analysis shall constitute part of the whole rulemaking record of agency action in connection with such review.

(B)The provisions of subparagraph (A) shall not be construed to alter the substantive or procedural standards otherwise applicable to judicial review of any action by the Commission.

(j) Petition to initiate rulemaking

The Commission shall grant, in whole or in part, or deny any petition under section
553(e) of title
5 requesting the Commission to initiate a rulemaking, within a reasonable time after the date on which such petition is filed. The Commission shall state the reasons for granting or denying such petition. The Commission may not deny any such petition on the basis of a voluntary standard unless the voluntary standard is in existence at the time of the denial of the petition, the Commission has determined that the voluntary standard is likely to result in the elimination or adequate reduction of the risk of injury identified in the petition, and it is likely that there will be substantial compliance with the standard.

Subsec. (h). Pub. L. 110–314, § 204(b)(3)(C), (D), in introductory provisions, substituted “unless the” for “unless, not less than 60 days after publication of the notice required in subsection (f) of this section, the” and in concluding provisions, substituted “appropriate Congressional committees. Nothing in this subsection shall preclude any person from submitting an existing standard or portion of a standard as a proposed regulation.” for “Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives.”

1990—Subsec. (g)(2). Pub. L. 101–608, § 108(b), struck out period at end and inserted “, except that the Commission shall terminate any such proceeding and rely on a voluntary standard only if such voluntary standard is in existence. For purposes of this section, a voluntary standard shall be considered to be in existence when it is finally approved by the organization or other person which developed such standard, irrespective of the effective date of the standard. Before relying upon any voluntary standard, the Commission shall afford interested persons (including manufacturers, consumers, and consumer organizations) a reasonable opportunity to submit written comments regarding such standard. The Commission shall consider such comments in making any determination regarding reliance on the involved voluntary standard under this subsection.”

1966—Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 89–756, § 2(d), substituted “any such hazardous substance intended, or packaged in a form suitable, for use in the household or by children, which fails to bear a label in accordance with such regulations shall be deemed to be a misbranded hazardous substance” for “any container of such hazardous substance, intended or suitable for household use, which fails to bear a label in accordance with such regulations shall be deemed to be a misbranded package of a hazardous substance”.

Committee on Energy and Commerce of House of Representatives treated as referring to Committee on Commerce of House of Representatives by section 1(a) ofPub. L. 104–14, set out as a note preceding section
21 of Title
2, The Congress. Committee on Commerce of House of Representatives changed to Committee on Energy and Commerce of House of Representatives, and jurisdiction over matters relating to securities and exchanges and insurance generally transferred to Committee on Financial Services of House of Representatives by House Resolution No. 5, One Hundred Seventh Congress, Jan. 3, 2001.

Effective Date of 1981 Amendment

Amendment by Pub. L. 97–35applicable with respect to regulations under this chapter and chapters 25 and 47 of this title for which notices of proposed rulemaking are issued after Aug. 14, 1981, see section 1215 ofPub. L. 97–35, set out as a note under section
2052 of this title.

Effective Date of 1969 Amendment

Amendment by Pub. L. 91–113effective on sixtieth day following Nov. 6, 1969, see section 5 ofPub. L. 91–113, set out as a note under section
1261 of this title.

National Commission on Product Safety

Pub. L. 90–146, Nov. 20, 1967, 81 Stat. 466, as amended by Pub. L. 91–51, Aug. 4, 1969, 83 Stat. 86, established a National Commission on Product Safety to study and investigate the scope and adequacy of measures to protect consumers against unreasonable risk of injuries which may be caused by hazardous household products and required the Commission to transmit its final report to the President and to the Congress by June 30, 1970. Ninety days after submission of its final report the Commission ceased to exist by the express terms of Pub. L. 90–146.